Hand over bodies of naxals to kin, AP High Court tells Chhattisgarh police

In the wake of alleged refusal by police to hand over the bodies of Keshava Rao and Sajja Venkata Nageshwar Rao, their family members had approached the court

Kothagudem: In a relief to the family members of CPI (Maoist) Central Committee general secretary Nambala Keshava Rao, who was killed in an encounter on Wednesday in Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh High Court on Saturday directed Chhattisgarh police officials to hand over his body to the family members.

In the wake of alleged refusal by Chhattisgarh police to hand over the bodies of Keshava Rao and another slain Maoist Sajja Venkata Nageshwar Rao, their family members on Friday approached the court seeking to give orders to police to hand over their bodies to the respective families to perform their last rites.

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Keshava Rao’s mother Bharatamma and his brother Delhishwar Rao, Nageshwar Rao’s brother Srinivas Rao and others moved a house motion petition in the High Court. A two-judge bench comprising Justice Y Lakshmana Rao and N Harinath heard the petition virtually and issued orders to hand over the bodies to the families of the Maoist leaders.

There were allegations that the Chhattisgarh police detained and threatened the family members of Keshava Rao and Nageshwar Rao when they went to Narayanpur to get their bodies. AP police were also accused of admonishing the family members for their visit to Chhattisgarh.

Meanwhile, Telangana Jana Samithi State president and MLC M Kodandaram stated that there were several doubts about the death of Keshava Rao. He said that he was caught by police and killed later.

Kodandaram condemned the encounter and said announcing a reward on the heads of individuals; hunting and killing them was against humanitarian values and the law. No law would accept such killings, he said.

A probe should be ordered into the encounter by a sitting High Court judge. It was wrong to think that by killing people one could eliminate a political ideology, which might not be acceptable to all. The government should stop the ongoing massacre and hold peace talks for which the Maoists were ready, Kodandaram said.